Apple Changing App Store Prices for Several Countries

As pointed out by several readers on Twitter, Apple appears to be changing pricing tiers of App Store applications in several European countries. Specifically, the lowest price used to be €0.79, which has today been bumped to €0.89. We've been able to confirm this is indeed the case, as shown in the screenshot above, taken from the Italian App Store.

With the introduction of new pricing tiers, some have suggested Apple has also slightly tweaked the commission it takes from every sale to 40%. It needs to be noted, however, that Apple's commission in Europe was already 40% before . There are several factors to consider for this pricing change: Euro isn't as strong as a year ago, so exchange rates have changed significantly in the past 12 months. Too, Apple is, as usual, paying VAT of 15% for Luxembourg, where the company is based for EU iTunes sales.

It's important to note that, today, iTunes Connect is undergoing maintenance. The pricing and commission change may be a temporary issue/error, but it seems unlikely considering the international rollout and updated PDF document available for download.

As noted by SaudiMac, Apple has also switched the Saudi and UAE App Store from US Dollars to local currency:

Apple has changed the currency for the Saudi Arabia App Store from United States Dollars to Saudi Riyals. A few examples: a $0.99 app now costs SR 3.69 and a $19.99 now costs SR 74.99. The change happened with the UAE App Store and Dirhams. Other Arab countries still has US$ for their app prices.

Federico is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of MacStories, where he writes about Apple with a focus on apps, developers, and iOS productivity. He founded MacStories in April 2009 and has been writing about Apple since. Federico is also the co-host of AppStories, a weekly podcast exploring the world of apps.